2 Samuel 2:1-11 David Anointed King of Judah

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Cecily Bell
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1 2 Samuel 2:1-11 David Anointed King of Judah The first thing that David does after the death of Saul is to enquire of the LORD where he should go. The LORD directs David to Hebron whereupon he is anointed king over Judah. He remains in Hebron for seven and a half years. We saw in 1 Samuel 16 that Samuel had anointed David in Bethlehem when he was but a boy. Why is David anointed in Hebron? (David is anointed king of Judah in Hebron to proclaim publicly that he is recognized as Saul s successor.) Hebron was the most important city in southern Judah, not far from Bethlehem; it was also a city of refuge, a Levitical city. Judah emerges as a separate entity from among the tribes of Israel and will remain such for years to come. [ESV Study Bible Notes p :4 Judah has apparently decided that having a king is a good thing; but rather than seeking out a relative of Saul (who was from the tribe of Benjamin, 1 Sam. 9:1), the people choose one of their own as king, the hero David, who was chosen by the Lord (1 Sam. 16:1-23; 25:30). Even in Saul s time, Judah formed a separate part of the army (1 Sam. 11:8; 15:4) and now it was prepared to act independently from the rest of Israel. ] David was told that the men of Jabesh-gilead had rescued and then burned and buried the bones of Saul and his sons. David sends word to Jabesh-gilead of his appreciation of how well they acted with regard to Saul and prays the Lord s blessing on them. He then tells them that the people of Judah have anointed him as king of Judah. David s capital (Hebron) is about 80 miles from Jabesh-gilead (which is deep in the territory of Israel across the Jordan). As what usually happens upon the death of a monarch, there is a scramble for power. Abner, the son of Ner was the commander of Saul s army and took it upon himself to set up Ish-bosheth [meaning man of shame ], Saul s sole surviving son, as king of Israel. The capital of Israel was Mahanaim in Transjordan about 30 miles south of Jabesh-gilead. But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim, and made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. (2 Sam. 2:8 ESV) Now there are two nations Israel and Judah. 2 Samuel 3:6-23 Abner Joins David A power struggle ensues and there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David (2 Sam. 3:6 ESV). Abner, Saul s chief general, labors continually to secure the kingdom of Israel for Ish-bosheth and yet Ish-bosheth accuses Abner going in to (a euphemism for sleeping with) Rizpah one of Saul s concubines. This is the type of thing that pretenders to the throne would do to proclaim their own right of succession. This very thing will happen to David himself later [2 Sam. 16:15-20]. Of course, Abner s sensibilities Writing Group July 26, 2011 Page 1

2 are offended: Am I a dog s head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba. (2 Sam. 3:8-10 ESV) Notice the intensity of the vow. From this we may infer that David s succession to Israel was a somewhat public matter. So Abner agrees to bring Israel over to David, but David has one condition: he wants his wife Michel whom Saul married off to Paltiel (1 Sam 25:44) for reasons we can only guess at. Oddly enough, David recounts that the bride price (100 Philistine foreskins) had been paid and that he wanted his wife back. Poor Paltiel is the hapless victim here and evidently is quite devoted to Michel because he was weeping after her all the way to Bahurim [very near to Jerusalem]. (2 Sam. 3:16 ESV) Abner makes good his promise to David and confers with the elders of Israel and Benjamin persuading them to join David. David then has a feast for Abner and the twenty men he had brought with him. And Abner said to David, I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires. (2 Sam. 3:20-21 ESV) 2 Samuel 3:22-39 Joab Murders Abner Later Joab, David s general, returns and is told that Abner had been to see David and that David let him go in peace. Now we have two generals but one army the problem. Joab has some bitter history with Abner. It happens that at the battle of Gibeon (between David s forces and those of Ish-bosheth), Joab s brother, Asahel, was killed by Abner [Abner ran his sword through Asahel s stomach] as Abner was trying to leave the place of battle. (David s forces had won the day.) Joab feigns concern for David here suggesting to David that Abner was only here to spy out Judah. Joab then has his men bring Abner back to David s camp (unbeknownst to David) and there kills him by (how?) running him through with his sword as Abner had done to his brother. No one seems to call to mind Deuteronomy 32:35-36 (ESV) or perhaps he is not familiar with it: Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly. For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants So Joab gets his revenge. Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father s house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle [i.e. does women s work j.t.] or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread! (2 Sam. 3:28-29) [ESV Study Bible Notes p. 548: Writing Group July 26, 2011 Page 2

3 3:28-29 Joab is apparently too important and useful for David to punish him for killing Abner, so he does the best he can by cursing him, having a funeral for Abner, and publicly mourning and chanting a lament for him. This is the only funeral described in detail in the OT. As elsewhere, tearing clothes, wearing sackcloth and fasting are features of mourning. All Israel refers to Abner s own countrymen. It was important for David and his future kingdom that all Israel know it was not the king s will to put to death Abner son of Ner.] So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king s will to put to death Abner the son of Ner. And the King said to his servants, Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? And I was gentle today, tough anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The LORD repay the evildoer according to his wickedness. (2 Sam. 3:37-39 ESV) 2 Samuel 4:1-12 Ish-bosheth Murdered When Ish-bosheth learned that Abner was dead, his courage failed him. Now two men of Benjamin, Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon, captains of raiding bands, came upon their king Ish-bosheth and stabbed him to death. Then they decapitated Ish-bosheth and went to David to deliver to him Ish-bosheth s head. We ve seen this scene before with the unfortunate messenger from Mount Gilboa carrying news of Saul s death. They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. And they said to the king, Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The LORD has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring. But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, Behold, Saul is dead, and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth? And David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Heron. (2 Sam. 4:7-12 ESV) 2 Samuel 5:1-12 David Anointed King of Israel So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David King over Israel when he was but thirty years old. (2 Samuel 5:3 ESV) The first order of business for David was to conquer Jebus (Jerusalem) and there establish his capital. [ESV Study Bible Notes p. 549 Writing Group July 26, 2011 Page 3

4 5:6-25 Jerusalem, the City of David. David captures the Jebusite city of Jerusalem to serve as the capital of his united Israel. He builds a palace in his royal city and continues to have children there. 5:6-13 The account of David s kingship over Israel starts with the capture of Jerusalem, on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin. It had not been controlled by any tribe, and thus it was both symbolically and geographically better suited to be the capital of all Israel than Hebron (in central Judah). Jerusalem was the Salem of Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18). It has been fortified since the Middle Bronze Age, i.e., the first half of the second millennium B. C. In the second half of the millennium it was one of the city-states of Canaan that was under the influence of Egypt. Several letters from the king of Jerusalem to the pharaoh exist among the fourteenth-century Amama letters. The Jebusites are listed among the Canaanites in Gen. 10:16 and, broadly speaking, were considered to be among the Amorites (Josh. 10:5). The city was too strong to be conquered at the time of Joshua (Josh. 15:63; Judg. 1:21). The Jebusite city, the stronghold of Zion, was located on the western slope of the Kidron Valley above the city s water source, the spring of Gihon. An extensive network of water tunnels has been excavated, one of which was probably the water shaft through which David s men entered the city. This water shaft is often identified with Warren s Shaft, which is directly over the water channel near the spring, though recent archaeological finds have challenged this. According to 1 Chronicles 11:6, Joab led the attack and was therefore made David s chief commander. 5:6-8 the blind and the lame will ward you off. The Jebusites probably meant that the fortifications were so strong that the city needed no able-bodied defenders. David quotes their words in ordering the attack, referring to the Jebusite defenders as the blind and the lame. The blind and the lame shall not come into the house may mean that the Jebusites were not allowed at David s court. ESV Study Bible Notes p. 549] Jebus, or Jerusalem, was not a random choice for David. Jebus was located on Mount Moriah. Mount Moriah is where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac. The LORD had asked Abraham to sacrifice to him his son on Mount Moriah. After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. (Gen. 22:1-2 ESV) Since God was pleased with Abraham s display of faith, he provided another sacrificial offering (a ram caught in the bush). Thus Isaac was spared. The next time such a demand would be made, the hand of God would not be stayed. [From the ESV Study Bible p. 550: Jerusalem in the Time of David (c B.C. Writing Group July 26, 2011 Page 4

5 About four millennia ago, Melchizedek was king of Jerusalem, which was then called Salem (Gen. 14:18). This was an unwalled city, which was taken over in c B.C., by the Jebusites, who built a city wall around it and called it Jebus (cf. 1 Chron. 11:4). King David captured this city after having ruled for seven years in Hebron (2 Sam. 5:5). The city was strongly fortified, especially the area around the Gihon Spring, where massive towers dating from this period have been excavated. The Jebusites were so confident of their fortifications that they taunted David, saying that even the blind and the lame would prevent him from capturing their city. (2 Sam. 5:6) However, Joab, David s commander-in-chief, managed to secretly enter the city through its water system and open the gates for David to take control (1 Chron. 11:6). The Jebusite Citadel was destroyed and replaced by the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David (2 Sam. 5:7). Later on in his life, David built an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, which stopped a plague sent by God upon Israel from reaching Jerusalem. ESV Study Bible p. 550] There is an element of sarcasm in David s response to the Jebusites taunt: Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, who are hated by David s soul. (2 Sam. 5:8 ESV) Evidently the Jebusites had not heard of David s success over his enemies and foes. And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him. (2 Sam. 5:10 ESV) And David knew that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. (2 Sam. 5:12 ESV) 2 Samuel 5:13-6:11 David Battles the Philistines (again!) and Defeats Them When the Philistines had heard that David was anointed king over Israel, they set off to find him and pitched in the Valley of Rephaim whereupon David sought the LORD s guidance. And David inquired of the LORD, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand? And the LORD said to David, Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand. (2 Sam. 5:19 ESV) This happened twice with the result that David drove the Philistines back to Philistia to Gezer. The Ark Brought to Jerusalem Having conquered and won Jerusalem and having defeated the Philistines, David then turns his attention to the Ark of the Covenant which is now being housed in Kiriath-jearim (or Baale-judah). He orders that the ark be brought to Jerusalem so they carried the ark on a new cart. What happens next is stunning and surprising. Writing Group July 26, 2011 Page 5

6 Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab (a Levite), guide the ark along the road when the oxen stumble and the Ark is shaken loose. Uzzah reaches out to stop the ark from falling and is struck dead for touching it. Seems like the right thing to do, doesn t it? Evidently David thought so and then became angry at the LORD for striking Uzzah. On the surface it seems unjust to be so harsh, but way back in Exodus (25:14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. ESV), or again in Numbers (4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishing of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die ESV); and again in Deuteronomy 10:8 ( At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless his name to this day. ESV) So the rules are clear and equally clear is that they were disregarded. In verse 5 we read And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. [ESV Study Bible Notes p :5 Before the Lord, as in Ex. 28:29 [ So shall Aaron bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD. ESV], means that the LORD himself was present above the ark. Both this passage and 1 Sam. 4:1-7:2 show that the ark was not just an arbitrary symbol of God s presence, but that God himself manifested his presence in a special way where the ark was, so the ark should not be treated lightly. With songs and lyres. Music is part of worship in most societies, and it was an important part of Israelite worship. The prophets in 1 Sam. 10:5 [ And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them prophesying. ESV] were accompanied by harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre. David sings God s praises in 2 Sam. 22:50, and in his old age he organized musicians to praise the Lord in the temple (1 Chron. 15:16; 23:1-5). 6:6-11 and God struck him down (v.7). The death of Uzzah resembles the outbreak against Beth-shemesh [tumors and mice against the Philistines] in 1 Sam. 6:19. Touching the ark was a direct violation of God s law (Num. 4:15 cited above). Even though Uzzah s motive was clearly to prevent desecration, his fault was occasioned by the earlier mistake in the mode of transporting the ark. 2 Samuel 6:12-23 David and Michel (part two) When we saw Michel last she was being picked up by Abner to be returned to David (as part of the deal to unite the ten tribes of Israel with Judah). Prior to that Michel was helping David to escape her father s (Saul s) henchmen from killing him (1 Sam. 19:11-17) for she Writing Group July 26, 2011 Page 6

7 loved David. Evidently she was embarrassed by David s public display and scolded him sarcastically. How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself! And David said to Michal, It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me prince over Israel, the people of the LORD. The scripture then tells us the Michel had no child to the day of her death, leaving to us to opine whether it was because David did not go in to her or that she may have been struck barren by God for her contempt toward David in his divinely appointed role as king of Israel. (ESV Study Bible Notes p. 554) Writing Group July 26, 2011 Page 7

II Samuel Chapter 3 (Page 1016)

II Samuel Chapter 3 (Page 1016) Session 2: June 10, 2018 II Sam. 3:8-21 Crowned King James Version (7) And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ishbosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto